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      alsa-utils-1.2.1
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      <h4>
        Beyond Linux<sup>�</sup> From Scratch <span class="phrase">(System
        V</span> Edition) - Version 9.1
      </h4>
      <h3>
        Chapter&nbsp;42.&nbsp;Multimedia Libraries and Drivers
      </h3>
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    <div class="sect1" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
      <h1 class="sect1">
        <a id="alsa-utils" name="alsa-utils"></a>alsa-utils-1.2.1
      </h1>
      <div class="package" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
        <h2 class="sect2">
          Introduction to ALSA Utilities
        </h2>
        <p>
          The <span class="application">ALSA Utilities</span> package
          contains various utilities which are useful for controlling your
          sound card.
        </p>
        <p>
          This package is known to build and work properly using an LFS-9.1
          platform.
        </p>
        <h3>
          Package Information
        </h3>
        <div class="itemizedlist">
          <ul class="compact">
            <li class="listitem">
              <p>
                Download (HTTP): <a class="ulink" href=
                "https://www.alsa-project.org/files/pub/utils/alsa-utils-1.2.1.tar.bz2">
                https://www.alsa-project.org/files/pub/utils/alsa-utils-1.2.1.tar.bz2</a>
              </p>
            </li>
            <li class="listitem">
              <p>
                Download (FTP): <a class="ulink" href=
                "ftp://ftp.alsa-project.org/pub/utils/alsa-utils-1.2.1.tar.bz2">
                ftp://ftp.alsa-project.org/pub/utils/alsa-utils-1.2.1.tar.bz2</a>
              </p>
            </li>
            <li class="listitem">
              <p>
                Download MD5 sum: c4628bae7632937eac2de4cf2a3de82e
              </p>
            </li>
            <li class="listitem">
              <p>
                Download size: 1.2 MB
              </p>
            </li>
            <li class="listitem">
              <p>
                Estimated disk space required: 15 MB
              </p>
            </li>
            <li class="listitem">
              <p>
                Estimated build time: 0.1 SBU
              </p>
            </li>
          </ul>
        </div>
        <h3>
          ALSA Utilities Dependencies
        </h3>
        <h4>
          Required
        </h4>
        <p class="required">
          <a class="xref" href="alsa-lib.html" title=
          "alsa-lib-1.2.1.2">alsa-lib-1.2.1.2</a>
        </p>
        <h4>
          Optional
        </h4>
        <p class="optional">
          <a class="xref" href="../general/fftw.html" title=
          "fftw-3.3.8">fftw-3.3.8</a>, <a class="xref" href=
          "libsamplerate.html" title=
          "libsamplerate-0.1.9">libsamplerate-0.1.9</a>, <a class="xref"
          href="../pst/xmlto.html" title="xmlto-0.0.28">xmlto-0.0.28</a>, and
          <a class="ulink" href="http://hightek.org/dialog/">Dialog</a>
        </p>
        <p class="usernotes">
          User Notes: <a class="ulink" href=
          "http://wiki.linuxfromscratch.org/blfs/wiki/alsa-utils">http://wiki.linuxfromscratch.org/blfs/wiki/alsa-utils</a>
        </p>
      </div>
      <div class="installation" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
        <h2 class="sect2">
          Installation of ALSA Utilities
        </h2>
        <p>
          Install <span class="application">ALSA Utilities</span> by running
          the following commands:
        </p>
        <pre class="userinput">
<kbd class="command">./configure --disable-alsaconf \
            --disable-bat   \
            --disable-xmlto \
            --with-curses=ncursesw &amp;&amp;
make</kbd>
</pre>
        <p>
          This package does not come with a test suite.
        </p>
        <p>
          Now, as the <code class="systemitem">root</code> user:
        </p>
        <pre class="root">
<kbd class="command">make install</kbd>
</pre>
      </div>
      <div class="commands" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
        <h2 class="sect2">
          Command Explanations
        </h2>
        <p>
          <em class="parameter"><code>--disable-alsaconf</code></em>: This
          switch disables building the <span class=
          "command"><strong>alsaconf</strong></span> configuration tool which
          is incompatible with <span class="application">Udev</span>.
        </p>
        <p>
          <em class="parameter"><code>--disable-xmlto</code></em>: Omit this
          switch if you have installed <a class="xref" href=
          "../pst/xmlto.html" title="xmlto-0.0.28">xmlto-0.0.28</a> and wish
          to regenerate the man pages.
        </p>
        <p>
          <em class="parameter"><code>--disable-bat</code></em>: Omit this
          switch if you have installed <a class="xref" href=
          "../general/fftw.html" title="fftw-3.3.8">fftw-3.3.8</a> and wish
          to install the Basic Audio Tester (BAT).
        </p>
        <p>
          <em class="parameter"><code>--with-curses=ncursesw</code></em>:
          This switch forces the use of wide-character ncurses libraries.
        </p>
      </div>
      <div class="configuration" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
        <h2 class="sect2">
          Configuring ALSA Utilities
        </h2>
        <div class="sect3" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
          <h3 class="sect3">
            <a id="alsa-utils-config" name="alsa-utils-config"></a>
          </h3>
          <h4 class="title">
            <a id="alsa-utils-config" name="alsa-utils-config"></a>Config
            Files
          </h4>
          <p>
            <code class="filename">/var/lib/alsa/asound.state</code>
          </p>
        </div>
        <div class="sect3" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
          <h3 class="sect3"></h3>
          <h4 class="title">
            <a id="idm45779237560864" name=
            "idm45779237560864"></a>Configuration Information
          </h4>
          <p>
            Note that all channels of your sound card are muted by default.
            You can use the <span class=
            "command"><strong>alsamixer</strong></span> program to change
            this. Use <span class=
            "command"><strong>speaker-test</strong></span> to check that your
            settings have been applied correctly. You should hear
            <span class="quote">&ldquo;<span class="quote">pink
            noise</span>&rdquo;</span> on your speakers.
          </p>
          <p>
            The <code class="filename">alsactl</code> program is normally run
            from a standard <span class="application">udev</span> rule. The
            first time it is run, it will complain that there is no state in
            <code class="filename">/var/lib/alsa/asound.state</code>. You can
            prevent this by running the following commands as the
            <code class="systemitem">root</code> user:
          </p>
          <pre class="root">
<kbd class="command">alsactl -L store</kbd>
</pre>
          <p>
            The volume settings should be restored from the saved state by
            <span class="application">Udev</span> when the device is detected
            (during boot or when plugged in for USB devices).
          </p>
          <p>
            All sound devices are not accessible for any user except
            <code class="systemitem">root</code> and members of the
            <code class="systemitem">audio</code> group. Add any users that
            might use the sound devices to that group:
          </p>
          <pre class="root">
<kbd class="command">usermod -a -G audio <em class=
"replaceable"><code>&lt;username&gt;</code></em></kbd>
</pre>
          <div class="admon note">
            <img alt="[Note]" src="../images/note.png" />
            <h3>
              Note
            </h3>
            <p>
              You may need to log out and back in again to refresh your group
              memberships. '<span class="command"><strong>su <em class=
              "replaceable"><code>&lt;username&gt;</code></em></strong></span>'
              should work as well.
            </p>
          </div>
        </div>
        <div class="sect3" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
          <h3 class="sect3">
            <a id="alsa-utils-init" name="alsa-utils-init"></a>
          </h3>
          <h4 class="title">
            <a id="alsa-utils-init" name="alsa-utils-init"></a>Boot Script
          </h4>
          <p>
            To automatically store and restore volume settings (if udev rule
            doesn't work for you) when the system is rebooted, install the
            <code class="filename">/etc/rc.d/init.d/alsa</code> boot script
            from the <a class="xref" href="../introduction/bootscripts.html"
            title="BLFS Boot Scripts">blfs-bootscripts-20191204</a> package.
          </p>
          <pre class="root">
<kbd class="command">make install-alsa</kbd>
</pre>
        </div>
      </div>
      <div class="content" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
        <h2 class="sect2">
          Contents
        </h2>
        <div class="segmentedlist">
          <div class="seglistitem">
            <div class="seg">
              <strong class="segtitle">Installed Programs:</strong>
              <span class="segbody">aconnect, alsactl, alsaloop, alsamixer,
              alsatplg, alsaucm, amidi, amixer, aplay, aplaymidi, arecord
              (symlink), arecordmidi, aseqdump, aseqnet, axfer, iecset, and
              speaker-test</span>
            </div>
            <div class="seg">
              <strong class="segtitle">Installed Libraries:</strong>
              <span class="segbody">None</span>
            </div>
            <div class="seg">
              <strong class="segtitle">Installed Directories:</strong>
              <span class="segbody">/usr/share/sounds/alsa and
              /var/lib/alsa</span>
            </div>
          </div>
        </div>
        <div class="variablelist">
          <h3>
            Short Descriptions
          </h3>
          <table border="0" class="variablelist">
            <colgroup>
              <col align="left" valign="top" />
              <col />
            </colgroup>
            <tbody>
              <tr>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    <a id="aconnect" name="aconnect"></a><span class=
                    "term"><span class=
                    "command"><strong>aconnect</strong></span></span>
                  </p>
                </td>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    is a utility for connecting and disconnecting two
                    existing ports in the ALSA sequencer system.
                  </p>
                </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    <a id="alsactl" name="alsactl"></a><span class=
                    "term"><span class=
                    "command"><strong>alsactl</strong></span></span>
                  </p>
                </td>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    is used to control advanced settings for ALSA sound card
                    drivers. Use this if alsamixer cannot utilize all of your
                    sound card's features.
                  </p>
                </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    <a id="alsaloop" name="alsaloop"></a><span class=
                    "term"><span class=
                    "command"><strong>alsaloop</strong></span></span>
                  </p>
                </td>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    allows creation of a PCM loopback between a PCM capture
                    device and a PCM playback device.
                  </p>
                </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    <a id="alsamixer" name="alsamixer"></a><span class=
                    "term"><span class=
                    "command"><strong>alsamixer</strong></span></span>
                  </p>
                </td>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    is an Ncurses based mixer program for use with the ALSA
                    sound card drivers.
                  </p>
                </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    <a id="alsaucm" name="alsaucm"></a><span class=
                    "term"><span class=
                    "command"><strong>alsaucm</strong></span></span>
                  </p>
                </td>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    allows applications to access the hardware in an
                    abstracted manner
                  </p>
                </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    <a id="amidi" name="amidi"></a><span class=
                    "term"><span class=
                    "command"><strong>amidi</strong></span></span>
                  </p>
                </td>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    is used to read from and write to ALSA RawMIDI ports.
                  </p>
                </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    <a id="amixer" name="amixer"></a><span class=
                    "term"><span class=
                    "command"><strong>amixer</strong></span></span>
                  </p>
                </td>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    allows command-line control of the mixers for the ALSA
                    sound card drivers.
                  </p>
                </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    <a id="aplay" name="aplay"></a><span class=
                    "term"><span class=
                    "command"><strong>aplay</strong></span></span>
                  </p>
                </td>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    is a command-line soundfile player for the ALSA sound
                    card drivers.
                  </p>
                </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    <a id="aplaymidi" name="aplaymidi"></a><span class=
                    "term"><span class=
                    "command"><strong>aplaymidi</strong></span></span>
                  </p>
                </td>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    is a command-line utility that plays the specified MIDI
                    file(s) to one or more ALSA sequencer ports.
                  </p>
                </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    <a id="arecord" name="arecord"></a><span class=
                    "term"><span class=
                    "command"><strong>arecord</strong></span></span>
                  </p>
                </td>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    is a command-line soundfile recorder for the ALSA sound
                    card drivers.
                  </p>
                </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    <a id="arecordmidi" name="arecordmidi"></a><span class=
                    "term"><span class=
                    "command"><strong>arecordmidi</strong></span></span>
                  </p>
                </td>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    is a command-line utility that records a standard MIDI
                    file from one or more ALSA sequencer ports.
                  </p>
                </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    <a id="aseqdump" name="aseqdump"></a><span class=
                    "term"><span class=
                    "command"><strong>aseqdump</strong></span></span>
                  </p>
                </td>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    is a command-line utility that prints the sequencer
                    events it receives as text.
                  </p>
                </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    <a id="aseqnet" name="aseqnet"></a><span class=
                    "term"><span class=
                    "command"><strong>aseqnet</strong></span></span>
                  </p>
                </td>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    is an ALSA sequencer client which sends and receives
                    event packets over a network.
                  </p>
                </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    <a id="axfer" name="axfer"></a><span class=
                    "term"><span class=
                    "command"><strong>axfer</strong></span></span>
                  </p>
                </td>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    is a command-line recorder and player used to transfer
                    audio frames between sound devices and files.
                  </p>
                </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    <a id="iecset" name="iecset"></a><span class=
                    "term"><span class=
                    "command"><strong>iecset</strong></span></span>
                  </p>
                </td>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    is a small utility to set or dump the IEC958 (or
                    so-called <span class="quote">&ldquo;<span class=
                    "quote">S/PDIF</span>&rdquo;</span>) status bits of the
                    specified sound card via the ALSA control API.
                  </p>
                </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    <a id="speaker-test" name="speaker-test"></a><span class=
                    "term"><span class=
                    "command"><strong>speaker-test</strong></span></span>
                  </p>
                </td>
                <td>
                  <p>
                    is a command-line speaker test tone generator for ALSA.
                  </p>
                </td>
              </tr>
            </tbody>
          </table>
        </div>
      </div>
      <p class="updated">
        Last updated on 2020-02-17 18:27:03 -0800
      </p>
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